1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the use of a screen device in a subterranean well which prevents fluid transmission therethrough until the mandrel of the screen device is perforated, thereby permitting selective production of, for example, one lobe of a multi-lobe zone within the well.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the completion of a subterranean oil or gas well, it oftentimes becomes desirable to deposit gravel within the annular area between the perforated casing immediate the production zone and the production string, to prevent migration with the produced hydrocarbons of particulate matter, such as sand, into the tubing string and thence to the top of the well. In conjunction with such gravel packing operations, a slotted liner or screen is well known to the art and may be carried into the well onto a work string or production conduit also defining thereon accessory items such as packers, hangers, crossover tools, and the like, commonly incorporated in gravel packing assemblies. The screen is positioned in the well adjacent the production zone and the gravel is deposited around the exterior thereof, using any one of a number of known and conventional means and techniques.
In many wells, it is common and characteristic for the production zone to extend longitudinally a considerable distance, such as sixty or more feet. Within such length, the zone may be separated into two or more "lobes", each such lobe defining a separate production strata which may have a quality of production fluid particularly distinguishable from that within other lobes within the zone. It may be desirable, therefore, to be able to produce each such lobe separately and selectively.
Heretofore, when such lobes have been encountered in a well which also required gravel packing because of the physical characteristics of the production zone, one complete length of screen would have to be incorporated into the zone and would be required to straddle both lobes. Thus, the production from each lobe would, of necessity, be co-mingled.
The present invention remedies this, and other, problems encountered with conventional and known gravel pack screen devices by providing a screen device which prevents fluid transmission therethrough to the production or work string conduit until it is selectively perforated by an auxiliary device, such as a jet-action perforating gun. By providing such a device, multi-lobes within a production zone may be selectively and separately produced without co-mingling of the production fluids therein.